Purpose

To consolidate, disseminate, and gather information concerning the 710 expansion into our San Rafael neighborhood and into our surrounding neighborhoods. If you have an item that you would like posted on this blog, please e-mail the item to Peggy Drouet at pdrouet@earthlink.net

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Move over and slow for the cone near highway work zones

http://thesource.metro.net/2013/09/26/move-over-slow-for-the-cone/

By Anna Chen, September 26, 2013

Following a rash of highway incidents, Caltrans, the California
Highway Patrol and the California Office of Traffic Safety are asking
motorists to move over and slow for the cone, both for the safety of
those in the car and that of the highway work crews.

Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the
Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) today are calling on all Californians for
their help in the ongoing effort to make highway work zones safer.
According to published reports, since September 16 four incidents,
all of which were preventable, resulted in injuries to 15 persons:

On Sept. 16, a head-on collision between a passenger vehicle and a
Caltrans truck on State Route 20 in Mendocino County sent both drivers
and their passengers to the hospital with major injuries. The Caltrans
workers had stopped to remove a dead deer from the roadway.

On Sept. 16, a contractor on flagging duty near State Route 191 in
Butte County was struck by a vehicle and sustained major injuries.
Authorities say the driver swerved to avoid another vehicle which had
slowed down in front of them.

On Sept. 17, a CHP officer on Interstate 80 in Auburn positioned his
cruiser into the path of a vehicle approaching a work zone at an
estimated 65 mph. His intervention successfully blunted the vehicle’s
approach, saving the life of a Caltrans worker who was removing debris
from the roadway. The officer was knocked unconscious from the impact.

On Sept. 18, a big rig drove into a work zone on State Route 60 in
Diamond Bar, injuring the driver, two Caltrans workers, and six members
of a crew of court-ordered community service workers who were picking up
roadside litter.

“Every day, highway workers put their lives in danger just by going
to work,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “These incidents are
a sobering reminder that we all must do everything we can to keep our
highways safe. Motorists must slow down, watch out for highway workers
and safely move over a lane when passing work crews.”
Californians can help keep highways safe by slowing down in work
zones and complying with the Move Over law, which took effect in 2007
and was amended in 2009 to add Caltrans vehicles displaying flashing
amber warning lights to the list of vehicles for which motorists must
move over if safe to do so, or slow down.

Caltrans and the CHP work together in construction zones to monitor
driver safety, and enforce the speed limit and the Move Over Law. When
feasible, Caltrans allows an extra buffer lane between workers and
vehicles in specific construction zones, so that workers previously
separated only by orange cones have more space between themselves and
oncoming vehicles.

“By moving over and slowing down, motorists can do their part to
ensure the public, highway workers, and emergency personnel stay safe,”
said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “The CHP will continue to work with
Caltrans to ensure motorists are complying with the Move Over, Slow Down
law.”

California has made significant strides in work zone safety since 1999 when Caltrans launched its Slow for the Cone Zone safety campaign. Since the inception of Slow for the Cone Zone, California’s work zone fatality rate has declined 56 percent compared to a drop of 32 percent nationally.

“Every day on every highway throughout the state, highway workers,
emergency personnel, tow truck operators, and law enforcement risk their
lives to make travel safer and more efficient,” said Chris Cochran,
Assistant Director, Marketing and Public Affairs, California Office of
Traffic Safety. “We can all help just by following the simple rule when
we see flashing lights on the side of the road – Move Over, Slow Down.”

Highway construction and maintenance work is one of the most
dangerous occupations in the United States. Since the 1927, 180 Caltrans
employees have died while on the job.